Burma’s new human rights commission is calling for President Thein Sein to release hundreds of political prisoners, lending weight to reports that a major prisoner release is imminent. In an open letter released Tuesday, National Human Rights Commission chairman Win Mra said the United Nations and a number of countries have called for the release […]
Burma’s Rights Panel Urges Release of Political Prisoners
Posted October 11th, 2011 at 2:10 am (UTC-5)
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Diplomats: Burmese Prisoner Release May be Imminent
Posted October 10th, 2011 at 9:35 am (UTC-5)
Diplomats inside and outside Burma say the new Burmese government may be preparing to start releasing political prisoners jailed by the country’s former military junta. No details have been provided. But Norwegian deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Espen Barth Eide told VOA’s Burmese service that he has been told by Parliament Speaker Thura Shwe Mann that […]
Diplomats: Burmese Prisoner Release May be Imminent
Posted October 10th, 2011 at 8:20 am (UTC-5)
Diplomats inside and outside Burma say the new Burmese government may be preparing to start releasing political prisoners jailed by the country’s former military junta. No details have been provided. But a Norwegian Foreign Affairs official and Burmese authorities were quoted Monday as saying a prisoner release would take place within days. The French news […]
Amnesty Intl; Demands Freedom for 11 Eritrean Politicians, Jailed Since 2001
Posted September 15th, 2011 at 9:15 pm (UTC-5)
The human rights group Amnesty International is demanding Eritrea release 11 political prisoners arrested a decade ago after calling for democratic reforms. Amnesty says the eleven, which include three former cabinet ministers, have spent the past ten years in prison without being charged and with no contact with the outside. It says being held incommunicado […]
Belarus President Pardons 4 Political Prisoners
Posted September 1st, 2011 at 8:30 pm (UTC-5)
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned four political activists who took part in mass post-election protests last December. The president’s press service said Thursday that Mr. Lukashenko pardoned four people who asked for clemency. Bulgaria’s foreign ministry said Thursday that Mr. Lukashenko has promised to release all political prisoners within a month and a half. […]
Bulgaria: Belarus Promises to Free All Political Prisoners
Posted September 1st, 2011 at 3:35 pm (UTC-5)
Bulgaria’s foreign ministry says Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has promised to release all political prisoners within a month and a half. The ministry made the announcement Thursday, saying Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov met with Mr. Lukashenko in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, last week. There was no immediate comment from Belarus’ government. But in a […]
Iran Pardons 100 Prisoners
Posted August 28th, 2011 at 3:20 am (UTC-5)
Iran’s semi-official news agency says the country’s top leader has pardoned 100 prisoners. Mehr news agency reports that 70 of the prisoners issued pardons by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were released immediately late Saturday. Officials say some of the pardoned prisoners participated in the 2009 protests following the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Authorities have not […]
Lebanon Searching for 5 Escaped Militants
Posted August 13th, 2011 at 5:20 pm (UTC-5)
Lebanese authorities are hunting for five prisoners who escaped from the country’s main prison Saturday. Most of the fugitives are members of a radical group said to be inspired by the al-Qaida terror network. The five men used bedsheets to scale down the prison walls. They then mingled with visiting relatives before walking out of […]
Lebanon Searching for 5 Escaped Militants
Posted August 13th, 2011 at 11:45 am (UTC-5)
Lebanese authorities are hunting for five prisoners who escaped from the country’s main prison Saturday. Most of the fugitives are members of a radical group said to be inspired by the al-Qaida terror network. The five men escaped from a ward of the Roumieh prison, northeast of Beirut. Authorities said most, if not all, of […]
Australia, China Nearing Agreement on Prisoner Exchange Treaty
Posted June 15th, 2011 at 1:00 am (UTC-5)
A new prisoner exchange treaty between Australia and China could allow mining executive Stern Hu and dozens of other Australians imprisoned in China to serve out their sentences at home. The Chinese-born Hu, an executive at Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, was sentenced last year for stealing commercial secrets and accepting bribes. A total of […]
